Extractable filler for inserting medicine into animal tissue

ABSTRACT

An extractable device is used to insert a medicinal filling into an animal tissue. The device comprises a filling member and a pasty medicine. The filling member is made of a flexible and hermetic wall and is provided with a holding portion and an injection port via which the pasty medicine is injected into the holding portion after the filling member is inserted into the animal tissue. The holding portion is provided with an opening which is releasably lashed by one end of one or more threads so as to make the opening leakproof. Upon completion of solidification of the pasty medicine in the holding portion of the filling member, other end of the thread is pulled to unlash the opening of the holding portion, thereby enabling the filling member to be extracted from the animal tissue so as to leave only the medicine in the animal tissue.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates generally to an instrument which isused in the restorative operation of animal tissue disorder. Morespecifically this surgical instrument can be used to insert a medicalmaterial into an animal tissue such that the instrument can be separatedfrom the medical material and drawn out of the animal tissue so as toavert the possibility of tissue rejection.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The surgical treatment of animal tissue disorder can be generallyattained by one of three methods, which include the hypodermic injectionof medicine, the balloon-insertion of medicine, and the filler-insertionof medicine. For example, the U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,972,105; 6,066,154; and6,248,110B1 disclose respectively a method for treating bone tissuedisorders, such as osteoporosis and vertebral compression fractures. Themethod involves the use of a balloon (made by the Kyphon Crop., U.S.A.)by which the tissue is expanded to facilitate the inserting of themedicine. This balloon method is defective in design in that themedicine is apt to spread aimlessly in the tissue without boundary.Without containment, the medicine is not as effective and there is thepossibility of injury to the surrounding tissues.

[0003] In order to prevent the drawbacks of the balloon method describedabove, the filler-insertion method is used to implant the medicine inanimal tissue in such a way that the medicine is contained in thefiller, and that both the medicine and the filler are implanted in theanimal tissue. This filler-insertion method is often carried out indanger of the tissue rejection of the filler.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] The present invention provides an extractable device forinserting a medicinal filling into an animal tissue, said devicecomprising:

[0005] a filling member comprising a flexible and hermetic wall andprovided with a holding portion, an injection port at one end of theholding portion, and an opening at another end of the holding portion;

[0006] one or more thread, each having one end for fastening releasablysaid opening of said holding portion in such a manner that said openingis leakproof; and

[0007] a pasty medicine to be injected into said holding portion viasaid injection port of said filling member in the wake of a process forinserting said filling member into the animal tissue whereby said pastymedicine solidifies in said holding portion of said filling member;

[0008] said opening of said holding portion being unfastened at the timewhen other end of said threads is pulled by an external force, therebyenabling said filling member to be extracted from the animal tissue soas to leave only said medicine in the animal tissue.

[0009] Preferably, said holding portion of said filling member isintegrally formed by said flexible and hermetic wall into a body in theform of sac, bag, or ball.

[0010] Preferably, said pasty medicine is a mixture of a liquid and amedicinal powdered substance or medicinal granular substance.

[0011] Preferably, the device of the present invention further comprisesan injection tool for injecting said pasty medicine into said holdingportion via said injection port.

[0012] Preferably, said injection tool comprises a guide tube and asyringe, wherein one end of said guide tube is connected to saidinjection port of said filling member and another end of said guide tubeis connected to said syringe in which said pasty medicine is held, sothat said pasty medicine is able to be injected into said holdingportion of said filling member by said syringe via said injection portand said guide tube.

[0013] Preferably, said flexible and hermetic wall is a double-layertubular wall having one end of an inner layer thereof being providedwith said injection port of said holding portion, and having another endthereof being a folded double-layer end with said opening of saidholding portion, wherein said medicine is released from said fillingmember by pulling a free end of an outer layer of the double-layertubular wall to retreat the folded double-layer end, after said openingof said holding portion being unfastened.

[0014] Preferably, said one or more thread is between said inner layerand said outer layer of said double-layer tubular wall.

[0015] The present invention also discloses a method for implanting asolidified medicine into an animal tissue comprising:

[0016] inserting a filling member in a hole of an animal tissue, saidfilling member comprising a flexible and hermetic wall and provided witha holding portion, an injection port at one end of the holding portion,and an opening at another end of the holding portion, wherein one ormore thread is provided and each having one end fastening releasablysaid opening of said holding portion in such a manner that said openingis leakproof;

[0017] injecting a pasty medicine into said holding portion via saidinjection port of said filling member, whereby said pasty medicinesolidifies in said holding portion of said filling member; and

[0018] unfastening said opening of said holding portion by pulling otherend of said threads, thereby enabling said filling member to beextracted from the animal tissue so as to leave only said solidifiedmedicine in the animal tissue.

[0019] Preferably, the method further comprising fastening detachably aninjection tool with said filling member, so that said pasty medicine isinjected into said holding portion via said injection tool. Morepreferably, said injection tool comprises a guide tube and a syringe,wherein one end of said guide tube is connected to said injection portof said filling member and another end of said guide tube is connectedto said syringe in which said pasty medicine is held, wherein said pastymedicine is injected into said holding portion of said filling member bysaid syringe via said injection port and said guide tube.

[0020] The flexible wall of the filling member of the present inventionis hermetic and made of a biocompatible or biosynthetic material, suchas rubber, elastic plastic, titanium, goat intestine, and the like. Theflexible wall can be formed into an object in the form of sac, bag,ball, cylinder or rectangular column integrally or by joining separatepieces.

[0021] The filling member of the present invention may contain a rayimaging material, such as a metal wire, by which the precise position ofthe filling member can be easily located by a ray imaging system, suchas an X-ray machine.

[0022] The features and the advantages of the present invention will bemore readily understood upon a thoughtful deliberation of the followingdetailed description of the preferred embodiments of the presentinvention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023]FIG. 1 shows a sectional schematic view of the present invention.

[0024]FIGS. 2a-2 c are schematic views illustrating the lashing of theopening of the holding portion of the filling member of the presentinvention.

[0025]FIGS. 3a and 3 b are sectional schematic view of the presentinvention at work.

[0026]FIGS. 4a-4 c are schematic views illustrating the unlashing of theopening of the holding portion of the filling member of the presentinvention upon completion of the injection of the medicine into theholding portion of the filling member.

[0027]FIG. 5a shows a schematic view of the connection tube of theimplantation-injection apparatus of the present invention.

[0028]FIGS. 5b and 5 c are sectional schematic views illustrating theprocess in which the filling member of the present invention isextracted from the animal tissue.

[0029]FIGS. 6a and 6 b are schematic views illustrating that the openingof the holding portion of the filling member of the present invention isreleasably lashed by a thread.

[0030]FIGS. 7a-7 d are schematic views illustrating a process in whichthe opening of the holding portion of the filling member of the presentinvention is releasably lashed by two threads in conjunction withsewing.

[0031]FIG. 8a is a schematic view illustrating a process in which adouble-layer wall of the holding portion of the filling member of thepresent invention is formed.

[0032]FIG. 8b illustrating a process in which the double-layer wall ofthe holding portion of the filling member of the present invention isretreated from the solidified medicine.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0033] As shown in FIG. 1, an extractable filler 10 embodied in thepresent invention comprises a filling member 20, a pasty medicine 30, aconnection tube 40, and two threads 50 and 51. The filling member 20 isformed of a flexible wall 21 and is provided with a holding portion 22and an injection port 23. The pasty medicine 30 is injected into theholding portion 22 via the connection tube 40 and the injection port 23.The dotted line 3-3 shows a direction in which a section of the fillingmember 20 is taken.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 2a, the holding portion 22 of the filling member20 is integrally formed of the hermetic flexible wall 21, and isprovided with an opening 24 opposite to the injection port 23 of thefilling member 20. The filling member 20, for example, is an inflatablerubber balloon with an additional opening like the opening 24. Theopening 24 is lashed by two threads 50 and 51. The first thread 50 has afirst end 501 and a second end 502, while the second thread 51 has afirst end 511 and a second end 512. The two threads 50 and 51 are infact fastened releasably to the flexible wall 21 near the opening 24.The way by which they are fastened together is not shown in the drawing.

[0035] The opening 24 of the holding portion 22 of the filling member 20is securely tied up to prevent the medicine 30 from leaking out of theholding portion 22 by means of the two threads 50 and 51 which arereleasably entangled in such a manner that the first end 511 of thesecond thread 51 is wound around the first thread 50. Upon completion ofthe winding process, the flexible wall 21 surrounding the opening 24 islocated in a position between the two threads 50 and 51, as indicated bya dotted line 4-4 in FIG. 2b. Thereafter, both ends 501 and 502 of thefirst thread 50, and the first end 511 of the second thread 51 arerespectively pulled rightward and leftwards at the same time, asillustrated in FIG. 2c. As a result, the opening 24 of the fillingmember 20 is leakproof.

[0036] As shown in FIGS. 3a and 3 b, the filling member 20 is firstinserted into a blind hole 71 of an animal tissue 70. The pasty medicine30 is then injected into the holding portion 22 of the filling member 20by a syringe 60 in conjunction with the connection tube 40. The fillingmember 20 is thus inflated by the medicine 30, as shown in FIG. 3b. Theconnection tube 40 has one end 41 which is connected with the fillingmember 20, and another end 42 which is connected to one end 611 of abarrel 61 of the syringe 60. A plunger 62 is slidably inserted intoanother end 612 of the barrel 61 in which the pasty medicine 30 iscontained.

[0037] The pasty medicine 30 is a mixture of a liquid and one or morekinds of animal tissue drugs in the form of powder, granule, or colloid.The pasty medicine 30 is capable of solidification.

[0038] Upon completion of the solidification of the pasty medicine 30 inthe blind hole 71 of the animal tissue 70, the filling member 20 must beextracted from the blind hole 71 of the animal tissue 70, so as to leaveonly the medicine 30 in the blind hole 71 of the animal tissue 70 toprevent the rejection of the filling member 20 by the animal tissue 70.The extraction of the filling member 20 from the blind hole 71 of theanimal tissue 70 involves a first step in which the second end 512 ofthe second thread 51 is pulled upward as indicated by an arrow in FIG.4a. As a result, the two threads 50 and 51 become loosened, as shown inFIG. 4b. Thereafter, the first end 501 of the first thread 50 and thesecond end 512 of the second thread 51 are respectively pulled in adirection away from the opening 24 of the filling member 20, asillustrated in FIG. 4c. The opening 24 is thus unfastened completely.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 5a, the connection tube 40 is provided in oneend 41 with a pointed projection 411 inside the tube. As the connectiontube 40 is slightly twisted, the solidified medicine 30 is severed bythe pointed projection 411 of the connection tube 40. The filling member20 can be drawn out of the blind hole 71 of the animal tissue 70 by theconnection tube 40, as illustrated in FIG. 5b and FIG. 5c. As a result,only the medicine 30 is left in the blind hole 71 of the animal tissue.

[0040] The opening 24 of the filling member 20 may be fastened by onlyone thread 50, as illustrated in FIGS. 6a and 6 b. The thread 50 has afirst end 501 and a second end 502. With the thread 50, a knot is formedto lash the opening 24 of the filling member 20 in such a manner thatthe flexible wall 21 of the opening 24 is surrounded by a loop asindicated by a line 5-5 in FIG. 6a. With the second end 502 of thethread 50 remaining in the stationary state, the first end 501 is pulledto fasten the opening 24. The opening 24 is unfastened by pulling thesecond end 502 of the thread 20, thereby resulting in separation of thefilling member 20 from the thread 50.

[0041] The thread 50 can be also used to form a different knot, as shownin FIG. 6b. The flexible wall 21 of the opening 24 of the filling member20 is surrounded by a loop as indicated by a line 6-6 in FIG. 6b. As thefirst end 501 of the thread 50 is pulled in a direction away from thefilling member 20, the opening 24 of the filling member 20 is lashed tobecome leakproof. The opening 24 of the filling member 20 is unlashed toenable the filling member 20 to separate from the thread 50 by pullingthe second end 502 of the thread 50.

[0042] The opening 24 of the filling member 20 can be releasablyfastened by sewing in conjunction with two threads 50 and 51, asillustrated in FIGS. 7a-7 d. With the first thread 50, a plurality ofloops are formed. These loops are joined with the flexible wall 21 ofthe opening 24 by sewing. The second thread 51 is put through the loopsof the first thread 50. As the second thread 51 is pulled out of theloops of the first thread 50, the first thread 50 becomes separated fromthe flexible wall 21 of the opening 24 of the filling member 20, asillustrated in FIGS. 7b-7 d. As a result, the opening 24 is unfastened.Such a fastening as described above is similar to that which is commonlyused to fasten the opening of a cement or flour bag.

[0043] A further embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG.8a, and FIG. 8b, which is similar to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to2 c, except that a filling member 80 is formed of a double-layer wall 81and the first thread 51 and second thread 52 are located between aninner layer 812 and an outer layer 811 of the double-layer wall 81. Asshown in FIG. 8a, a flexible and hermetic tubular wall is tied at anintermediate point thereof by the threads 50 and 51 at the beginning.The lower portion 811 of the tubular wall (will become an outer layer)is then rolled up, so that it is inside out and covering up the threads50 and 51 and the upper portion 812 of the tubular wall (will become aninner layer). The rolled-up end of said double-layer wall 81 is providedwith an opening 82 of the holding portion 22, which is lashed by the twothreads 50 and 51. The opening 82 is unfastened by pulling the threads50 and 51 the same way as shown in FIGS. 4a to 4 c. As shown in FIG. 8b,the rolled-up double-layer end is retreated from the solidified medicine30 by pulling a free end of the outer layer 811 of the double-layer wall81, while one end of the inner layer 812 is connected to the connectiontube 40 as an injection port of said holding portion 22 of the saidfilling member 80, whereby said solidified medicine 30 is released fromsaid filling member 80. A working tube 43 is used to accommodate theconnection tube 40, the threads 50 and 51 and the free end of the outerlayer 811 of the double-layer wall 81 of the filling member 80.

[0044] The embodiments of the present invention described above are tobe regarded in all respects as being illustrative and nonrestrictive.Accordingly, the present invention may be embodied in other specificforms without deviating from the spirit thereof. The present inventionis therefore to be limited only the scopes of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An extractable device for inserting a medicinalfilling into an animal tissue, said device comprising: a filling membercomprising a flexible and hermetic wall and provided with a holdingportion, an injection port at one end of the holding portion, and anopening at another end of the holding portion; one or more thread, eachhaving one end for fastening releasably said opening of said holdingportion in such a manner that said opening is leakproof; and a pastymedicine to be injected into said holding portion via said injectionport of said filling member in the wake of a process for inserting saidfilling member into the animal tissue whereby said pasty medicinesolidifies in said holding portion of said filling member; said openingof said holding portion being unfastened at the time when other end ofsaid threads is pulled by an external force, thereby enabling saidfilling member to be extracted from the animal tissue so as to leaveonly said medicine in the animal tissue.
 2. The device as defined inclaim 1, wherein said holding portion of said filling member isintegrally formed by said flexible and hermetic wall into a body in theform of sac, bag, or ball.
 3. The device as defined in claim 1, whereinsaid pasty medicine is a mixture of a liquid and a medicinal powderedsubstance or medicinal granular substance.
 4. The device as defined inclaim 1 further comprising an injection tool for injecting said pastymedicine into said holding portion via said injection port.
 5. Thedevice as defined in claim 4, wherein said injection tool comprises aguide tube and a syringe, wherein one end of said guide tube isconnected to said injection port of said filling member and another endof said guide tube is connected to said syringe in which said pastymedicine is held, so that said pasty medicine is able to be injectedinto said holding portion of said filling member by said syringe viasaid injection port and said guide tube.
 6. The device as defined inclaim 1, wherein said flexible and hermetic wall is a double-layertubular wall having one end of an inner layer thereof being providedwith said injection port of said holding portion, and having another endthereof being a folded double-layer end with said opening of saidholding portion, wherein said medicine is released from said fillingmember by pulling a free end of an outer layer of the double-layertubular wall to retreat the folded double-layer end, after said openingof said holding portion being unfastened.
 7. The device as defined inclaim 6, wherein said one or more thread is between said inner layer andsaid outer layer of said double-layer tubular wall.
 8. The device asdefined in claim 5, wherein said flexible and hermetic wall is adouble-layer tubular wall having one end of an inner layer thereof beingprovided with said injection port of said holding portion, and havinganother end thereof being a folded double-layer end with said opening ofsaid holding portion, wherein said medicine is released from saidfilling member by pulling a free end of an outer layer of thedouble-layer tubular wall to retreat the folded double-layer end, aftersaid opening of said holding portion being unfastened.
 9. The device asdefined in claim 8, wherein said one or more thread is between saidinner layer and said outer layer of said double-layer tubular wall. 10.A method for implanting a solidified medicine into an animal tissuecomprising: inserting a filling member in a hole of an animal tissue,said filling member comprising a flexible and hermetic wall and providedwith a holding portion, an injection port at one end of the holdingportion, and an opening at another end of the holding portion, whereinone or more thread is provided and each having one end fasteningreleasably said opening of said holding portion in such a manner thatsaid opening is leakproof; injecting a pasty medicine into said holdingportion via said injection port of said filling member, whereby saidpasty medicine solidifies in said holding portion of said fillingmember; and unfastening said opening of said holding portion by pullingother end of said threads, thereby enabling said filling member to beextracted from the animal tissue so as to leave only said solidifiedmedicine in the animal tissue.
 11. The method as defined in claim 10,wherein said pasty medicine is a mixture of a liquid and a medicinalpowdered substance or medicinal granular substance.
 12. The method asdefined in claim 10 further comprising fastening detachably an injectiontool with said filling member, so that said pasty medicine is injectedinto said holding portion via said injection tool.
 13. The method asdefined in claim 12, wherein said injection tool comprises a guide tubeand a syringe, wherein one end of said guide tube is connected to saidinjection port of said filling member and another end of said guide tubeis connected to said syringe in which said pasty medicine is held,wherein said pasty medicine is injected into said holding portion ofsaid filling member by said syringe via said injection port and saidguide tube.